Down Too Deep (Dirty Deeds, #4)(106)

Hair. Face. Arms. Legs. She was covered in fluorescent squares.

I didn’t give a shit. Marley could go through every Post-it note I had in here if she wanted to.

She was smiling, and I knew most of that happiness came from her contentment to stay in the same room with me for longer than two minutes now and not for my office supplies. Marley wanted to be around me. She liked coming here. She didn’t get to do it often.

Since Jenna stopped watching her, my parents had picked up two days a week. They never minded helping out, as long as that was all they were doing. I was with Marley the most. I wasn’t working nearly as much now, thanks to Tori, so I got a lot of time with her at home. I wanted to be with her as much as I could.

Marley was happy, but she missed Jenna and the kids. She asked about them constantly. She hadn’t seen them since that Thursday. That was two weeks ago.

I was still trying to fix things with Jenna, and I saw her and her kids as much as she allowed, but I hadn’t involved Marley in that yet. I didn’t know if it would look like I was trying to use my daughter as a pawn, since I knew Jenna loved her. Maybe I was worrying for nothing, but it was important to me that Jenna knew where my dependence on her stemmed from.

I needed her for me. My daughter needed her for her. There was a difference.

It was getting difficult keeping them apart though. Marley’s happiness meant more than my own. I hated denying it.

“Daddy, more? I get some?”

I tore off another square and took it to her, returning to my desk just as my cell rang. I accepted the call without looking at the screen. I was too busy looking at Marley.

“Yeah, this is Nathan.”

“Hi, Nate.”

Olivia’s voice in my ear spread warmth throughout my chest and down my limbs. This was her first time calling me.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I lowered myself into the chair. “How are you?”

“Good.”

“How’s your brother?”

“He’s good. We’re going to the movies tonight.”

“Oh yeah?”

I wondered how much Oliver and Olivia had to beg for Jenna to take them, but then I stopped wondering because I knew Jenna. I doubt she made them beg much at all.

“That sounds fun,” I told her.

“It’s going to be, for sure. But”—her voice grew quiet—“remember when you said you’d take me out on a date, and then I said we could go to the movies? Remember that?”

I smiled, catching my head in my hand. “Yes, I remember.”

“Well, could this be our date?” Olivia was whispering now. “Can you come with Marley? You can meet us there. Mom said we’re leaving in one hour. Can you leave in one hour too?”

Olivia was keeping her voice down because she didn’t want Jenna knowing what she was asking me. That was obvious. She was worried her mom would tell her no, and I wanted to tell her yes. I could swing getting there in an hour, no problem. I was finishing up for the night anyway.

“Liv, we should probably ask your mom if I can come,” I said. “Can you ask her?”

I sat forward then, hunching over the desk. The muscles in my back went rigid. Now I was suddenly worried. My plans for the night were set, in my opinion. I wanted to go with them. I wanted us all to be together.

“She likes surprises, Nate. Let’s just surprise her.”

“She might not like this surprise.”

“No, she will. I know she will. She wants to see Marley. She told me that when I asked her why she was so sad yesterday…”

My hand tightened around the phone. “She was sad yesterday?”

“Uh-huh. And she was super quiet. I knew something was up.”

I hung my head and rubbed at my neck, my eyes closing as I inhaled. Fuck, that bothered me. Jenna needed this—she needed to be around my daughter. And maybe she would eventually ask to see Marley while she still made up her mind about me, but I couldn’t wait for that.

I wouldn’t make her wait for it.

*



I finished up at work and drove straight to the theater.

I wanted to beat Jenna there. Olivia had told me what they were seeing before she briskly disconnected the call, too excited to stay on the phone any longer.

After I purchased the tickets, I waited with Marley and watched the doors.

The kids walked inside first, spotting us right away and waving, hurrying over.

Marley pushed against me until I let her down. She shouted for Oliver and Olivia and made little squeals of excitement. She hugged them both, clinging to Oliver’s leg and making him laugh. And when Jenna walked inside, Marley ran at her.

Jenna looked shocked to see us for all of a solid second, and for that second it was me she looked at. Then it was Marley and only Marley who made her move nearer, drawing her away from the doors and farther inside the building. It was Marley who put the smile on Jenna’s face and the tears in her eyes I noticed when I got close enough.

“Surprise!” Olivia yelled, giggling with her hands on her cheeks.

Jenna heard her. I knew she did—Olivia was loud and the lobby wasn’t that busy—but Jenna was caught up. She was holding Marley and kissing her face, telling her how much she missed her and how big she looked. How pretty. She hugged her like it had been longer since they’d last hugged. Jenna didn’t react at first to Olivia or to Oliver when he asked her if she was surprised. She didn’t even react to me when I told them I’d already purchased everyone’s tickets, which was something she most likely would have disputed.